Global share of LPWA connections H1 2020 and 2025, by technology

The number of low-power wide-area (LPWA) or low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) connections worldwide was dominated by LoRA and NB-IoT. A combined share of over 80 percent of LPWA connections used these two technologies in the first half of 2020.

LPWAN or LPWA

This type of wireless telecommunication wide area network is designed to allow communications at a low cost over a long range for connected devices such as sensors with a focus on IoT. The distinguishing factor for an LPWAN is low power, low bit rate, and extended coverage over a wireless WAN that consumes more energy as it carries a larger amount of data over the network. This has been one of the biggest connectivity technology success stories along with Bluetooth in the last decade. It is believed that LPWAN IoT connections would outnumber any other IoT connectivity technology by 2030, LPWAN module shipments are forecast to reach 390,000 by 2021.

LoRA and NB-IoT

Both these technologies, Long Range (LoRa) and Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT), are two branches of emerging LPWAN technology which is the most ideal network for IoT. They form the most adopted standard for low-power IoT devices. One major difference between these standards is that LoRa uses an unlicensed spectrum and perform better where less frequent data transfers are needed; NB-IoT operates on licensed frequency bands and performs better when frequent data transfers are needed. For example, LoRa is the best choice when it comes to smart metering with low data output and NB-IoT for the retail sector to measure customer surges and point of sale (POS) where there is a variable data output.